


Protest

by PhantomMoon



Category: Poetry - Fandom
Genre: Bad Poetry, COVID-19, Social Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:41:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25113310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhantomMoon/pseuds/PhantomMoon
Summary: I'm going crazy during this quarantine!
Kudos: 1





	Protest

People often protest things,  
We start by learning the word “no,”  
And it evolves from there.  
We learn likes and dislikes,  
We learn more words and use them  
To spread those likes and dislikes.

As kids we don’t really know what’s good for us  
So we protest against  
Eating vegetables, taking medicine,  
Going to the doctor, doing our homework,  
And so much more.

As teens we are coming into ourselves  
And we want more freedom.  
So we protest against  
Our parents, our schools,  
The rules, and expectations.

As adults we are grown,  
We have opinions and criticisms.  
We protest about wars, crimes,  
And social injustice,  
Racism, sexism, classism,  
Perceived wrongs, hate crimes.  
We protest how people act,  
How they feel, how they love,  
Who they love, what they like.  
As adults, we can protest  
For or against everything.

Now in 2020,  
We protest the death of a man  
In police custody, but we forgot that  
He was under arrest for passing counterfeit money  
And he was resisting arrest.  
Protesters said that his “only crime was being born black”  
But he was previously convicted of 8 crimes,  
Including theft and armed robbery.  
There were riots in his name,  
Buildings set on fire, stores looted and robbed,  
There were even people killed.  
But no one really talks a lot about that.  
No one really talks about the retired police captain  
Shot by someone looting a pawn shop and  
How it was live streamed.

No one protested the deaths of 19 unarmed whites by police in 2019.  
Or how many police were killed by criminals.  
They say “Defund the police” but the police  
Are already understaffed, underpaid, stressed  
And every day may be their last day alive. 

People like to protest about politics as well but  
No one seems to be protesting an 80 year old dementia patient  
That is in line for the US presidency.  
How state governments gave themselves pay raises  
While so many are unemployed because of quarantine  
Or that stimulus checks are being sent to the dead.  
How a groundbreaking president left a giant mess  
For his successor to clean up and who still  
Treats his successor as a rival.  
How some state governors protest and claim  
They received no federal support or equipment  
For the states many COVID-19 cases  
But the supplies and equipment had been sent  
And sitting in warehouses  
Because the governors refused to release them and  
Let this vital equipment and supplies be used.  
Or how political protesters are destroying statues,  
Monuments, and want national landmarks  
To be destroyed for the history they represent.  
History is full of cruelty and injustice,  
That is one reason these statues and monuments  
Should stay standing so that the future can learn  
What was done, why it was done, and how to change.

No one protests about the millions that are homeless,  
The millions that are quarantined with their abusers,  
How many businesses cannot re-open and  
Their employees must find new jobs.  
How some states are have strange rules  
For various businesses to re-open,  
Bars being responsible for the people  
And their actions 200 feet around the bar.  
Schools that can re-open if every staff person  
And student is tested once a week for COVID.

Maybe instead of protesting everything,  
We should stop, think, listen, and learn.  
So that history can be taught to change the future,  
So that there will be less hate and more understanding,  
So that all men, women, and children can be treated and be equal.


End file.
